Demon Within
by AdamineTerra
Summary: Book One of the series Mages of Lancet. Suffering from amnesia, King Isaac is forced to go into hiding. With his brother off the grid, and his cousin unable to assist him, Isaac finds security in the presence of Kagura Mikazuchi. This warrioress vows to sacrifice life and limb in order to protect the tragic king. But, what happens when the mask over Isaac's face is lifted?
1. Vacation

**Welcome to the Kingdom of Lancet, fellow FanFictioners! It is with great pleasure, that I introduce to you the true Book One of my Mages of Lancet Series. This series stemmed unwittingly from me writing my Adamine Terra Stories (For the sake of understanding I suggest you at least take a peak at them, Hunt and be Hunted is Book One). The next thing I knew, I was falling in love with my OCs and wanted to give them a story, too.**

**After some not so subtle encouragement from my favorite comrade in arms, Glitter Spires, I decided to post up Book One, Demon Within.**

**I hope you enjoy the story of sexy King Isaac Grigori Von Kaiser (yes, my German speaking readers you are allowed to laugh at the fact that the King's last name means King) and our story's beautiful heroine Kagura Mikazuchi!**

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><p>Prologue<p>

Gatlin sat quietly in the dungeon, a dungeon that should have been his. Everything should have been his. It was all his by right, but that woman, that mage whore, ruined it all for him. She should have just lain down and let him take his rightful place as king of this castle, but she hadn't.

The bitch had rebelled against him, against all of nobility. She had started a war with the alliance of Fiore. She and all kinds of misfit demons had stormed the wall. They had broken it down with their demonic energy and released every kind of sin imaginable into the peaceful world of nobility.

He sneered in the darkness of his cell. With his hands chained behind his back, Gatlin couldn't help but spit at the rat scampering for breadcrumbs of food Gatlin refused to eat. It was contaminated by mage hands. There was no telling what kind of poison was in that meal. Gatlin lived solely on the fact that he would escape here, the fact that he would regain this kingdom even though Erianna Lancet, AKA Adamine Terra, had ruined it all for him.

He didn't need the bitch now. He would seize this country through dictatorship if he had to. Then, he would create an empire. He would cleanse the entire world of the demons that called themselves mages. It would be the greatest ethnic cleansing the world was to see. All Gatlin had to do was set it into motion.

Glancing down at the markings he'd engraved into the wall, Gatlin grinned. His smile was malicious. Adamine and the Forsaken Princes thought they had taken all his cards, but oh, Gatlin had an ace up his sleeve. He would assassinate the False King Isaac if it was the last thing he did.

Gatlin may not have been able to use magic, but he knew how to summon an angel. Cutting himself on his iron manacles, Gatlin pressed his bloody wrist to the engravings on the wall.

Something glowed behind him, and Gatlin waited. He waited, and he waited. As his blood flowed freely into the markings behind him, he sat with eager eyes. They glittered in the darkness with excitement. Soon, he would get everything: his revenge and his kingdom.

It would all be his. Now, all he had to do was summon an angel.

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><p>Vacation<p>

_Kingdom of Lancet_

_Capital Lance_

Isaac was… bored.

There was no other word for it. It'd been months since Isaac had taken the throne of Lancet. It had been a time full of civil rights, protests, and paperwork. Sure, he'd been kept busy these past few months. He'd fought in a war a little while back. Adamine, his adoptive cousin and princess of Lancet, had won the rights to her crown but had immediately passed those rights over to him before anyone could put the crown on her head. He'd taken part in what the mages called Magical Equality, a civil rights protest for the equality of mages and Normans, humans that couldn't use magic. He'd been dealing with the uprising of Normans against mages. Also, Isaac had been working towards the equality of women since they were so suppressed in his kingdom. All in all, Isaac shouldn't have had time to get bored.

But, here he was. His tall body was draped across his throne. His crown sat crooked on his head. His square jaw line was rested uncomfortably against his pale fist. He wasn't even wearing his elaborate masquerade mask to cover up where a demon had stolen his eye.

Unfortunately, Normans didn't take kindly to knowing that their king was a mage. They had called him out on how he always hid his face from prying eyes. Therefore, his masquerade mask had gone in the same direction of his black trench coat, to his closet. Instead of using the mask to hide the eye his demon mother had given him, Isaac now sported a nifty eye patch. He hated it.

He hated it as much as he hated how jaded he was already growing with this whole King of Lancet business. Isaac's purple eyes rolled lazily over to the direction of where his true second-in-command should have been sitting. Isaac missed his foul mouthed, overzealous, man whoring half-brother with a vengeance.

Urian and Adamine had both left him after celebrating their victory over the kingdom. Adamine had gone back to her new lover, a Seith Mage she'd grown up with after losing her dragon mother, and Urian had followed suit, chasing after a Demon Take Over Mage.

The two of them favored the kingdom of Fiore and its pleasant normalcy between Normans and mages, so with his blessing Isaac had sat back in the kingdom as he watched his, not blood related, cousin and his half-brother fade off into the sunset of the Midian Sea.

Now, though, there was nothing he would give to be with them. In the short amount of time that he had spent in Fiore, Isaac had adored the hectic life of playing the role of a Fairy Tail mage. They had played the part to keep Adamine safe from a group of paid mercenaries named Exile. Despite their efforts, Adamine had decided she wanted to be kidnapped. Then, had begun the race for Lancet. All in all, it had turned up fine in the long run, but Isaac missed his loved ones.

Now that he had determined that Adamine would never acknowledge his secret feelings for her, Isaac had gotten over his pining for her. The two would always be childhood friends, and Isaac had decided to keep his lips sealed over the fact that they were no more related than he was to the throne he sat atop. Isaac Grigori Von Kaiser, his true name, was no longer desirous of the feisty female who had always been by his side. Now, he simply missed the chaos of having her around. Chaos that would be even more entertaining if Isaac had Mina _and_ Urian with him…

"Looks like you're about to die of boredom, my King," Isaac's new second-in-command, Hollis Flight, mentioned in all sarcasm. Hollis was a former mage of Exile that used to be in the running for Adamine's life. After proving himself worthy in the battle between Normans and mages, Isaac had decided to anoint him as his regent.

The crimson phoenix that was tattooed across his skin let out a caw in agreement. It wasn't long after that, that Hollis freed the bird from his skin. It flew happily to the small throne and perched itself beside Isaac. Hollis followed suit to sit at Isaac's right.

"Oh, really? I didn't figure it was that obvious considering that I've been sitting here staring at the tapestries for the past thirty minutes," Isaac grumbled back. He adjusted himself to sit up straighter. Something about having that phoenix around him always called to the Shadow Demon that lurked within. Perhaps it was because his demon was a raven?

Hollis didn't pay any mind to the comment. If anything, the man stretched out in the comfy throne. The luxuries that Isaac had given to the members of Exile after they changed sides were the best things they'd ever been given. They made sure to thank the king every time they saw him. It astounded Isaac that such good people had kept their sanity given their circumstances.

Isaac knew he would have killed anyone assigned to him if doing so meant that his family would be kept safe. The fact that the bastard in his dungeon, Gatlin, had used those people's loved ones against them still burned hot in Isaac's mind.

Cinder, Hollis's phoenix, made a caw, and the man grinned at his bird. "That's a wonderful idea, Cindy," the man mentioned.

Before Isaac could turn his head to question the two, Hollis had already spoken up. "So, Zac, since you've appointed me as your regent that means that I get to rule when you're gone. Right?"

"Yes." Where was this going?

"Well, Cindy and I were thinking that after we snooped through your mail, that it would be good for you to take a little vacation."

"Vacation," Isaac stated tonelessly. He blinked a moment before snapping, "You went through my mail!"

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever." Hollis withdrew a sheet of paper from his vest then opened an envelope. "My dearest King Isaac," he read, "it is with much love that I send this letter to you regarding the possible engagement of you to my daughter, Princess Hisui. I know that my daughter was promised to you when your parents were still living, but it has only been after the recent liberation of Lancet, that I have been encouraged to proceed with the engagement. I know your kingdom is filled with strife, but I am sure the union of Lancet and Fiore would assist in encouraging Normans to accept mages into their society. Between your powerful magic and my daughter's Celestial Spirit magic, I am sure that the two of you could form a unified front to show that not all mages are harmful to peaceful living. With the death of your parents, I know that you do not have to proceed with the marriage, but I do encourage you to get to know my beloved daughter. She is a wonderful young woman, and I know she would make a fabulous and strong wife for you and your kingdom. In a few days, a Guild Beauty Pageant will be held for _Sorcerer Weekly_. I encourage you to come and enjoy the festival that goes with it."

Isaac quickly snatched the parchment from Hollis's fingertips. "You may be my regent, but that gives you no right to go through my mail." All of a sudden, red went around Isaac's collar. "What else did you find in my mail?"

"Oh, nothing much. There was this magazine from _PlaySpell_, but Colin stole that before I could get my hands on it. I hear that Adamine was asked to model for it since she's so comfortable with nudity." Hollis looked up the gold leaf on the ceiling. "What I wouldn't give to get my hands on _that_ magazine," he mentioned, voice barely above a whisper.

Zac could have had steam coming out of his ears. "That's my cousin you're talking about!"

"Not by blood. Come on, _Izzy_. You know you think she's hot."

Zac scowled at the use of Adamine's pet name for him. She had called him that when they were children, and it had just stuck. Pissed him off when anyone else called him by that girlie nickname. That was a Mina privilege reserved for Mina only.

"What I think doesn't matter. The last thing I want is for thousands of pervy boys to be buying towels and lotion for my cousin's body." His eyes looked to the paper in his hands. He was surprised to see it there. Zac had almost forgotten about it because of their most uncomfortable discussion.

Hollis let out a bored sigh then flopped gracelessly on his throne. So very Urian-like. No wonder they got along. Some of the time…

"So, you gunna go?"

"Go where?"

"To the thing." He pointed to the parchment and Cinder cawed for Isaac to pay attention.

Isaac stared down at the paper with his one purple eye. It would be nice to go to Fiore, and possible engagement to Hisui wasn't a bad thing. It would strengthen the kingdom, and Hisui was a kind woman. In the seven years Adamine spent frozen on Tenrou, Zac had visited her.

He'd never really seen her. Sure, they'd been dates to formal meetings and dances, but his mind was always hung up on Adamine.

He'd sent out search parties for seven years straight until one day she just appeared on his doorstep. She'd stood there in the pouring rain. Her chest had been heaving. Blood trickled down her face. She looked like she'd gotten into a fight with a manticore and lost.

After Adamine had heard about the destruction caused during the Grand Magic Games, she had bolted. She had taken off with a group of mage children meant to be sent to Fiore through the Magic Railroad, a railway created by the Princess of Lancet herself to rescue mage children from potential slaughter. Her eyes had been set on finding more about the dragons and also checking in on some old friends, friends that went by the titles of Raijinshuu and Laxus.

Isaac had been so caught up in catching Adamine and keeping her safe that he had hardly paid attention to the woman that was supposed to someday be his wife. Now, Zac felt guilty.

Hisui was a kind girl. She cared much about her kingdom and its survival like Isaac did, but she just didn't have that fire like Adamine did. She didn't command a room with her strength like his Mina did. As a matter of fact, Isaac had never even seen her fight.

The mage women of Lancet were so tough that Isaac always expected a curvy, powerful mage to stand at his side. He just didn't see Hisui fitting the bill. Still, he owed it to her. He barely knew her, and he was supposed to get wed to her, potentially.

Despite it all, Isaac felt his lips forming a refusal of the request. "I have a lot to do here. The Normans need someone to balance their requests with the mages. We can't just let mages have free run of everything. If we give them special benefits, the racism will only deepen. Besides, there's the Magician's Alliance that I've been putting off."

The Magician's Alliance was a powerful alliance much like the Magic Council. It monitored the guilds to be legalized and monitored the potential destruction due to magical forces. Also, it was a kind of police force that would keep mage and Norman riots to a minimum. The Alliance was extremely important but Zac had been putting it off for far too long. Mages were starting to get antsy.

They wanted to be treated as fully equal members of society. Also, so did the suppressed women of the country. Isaac's head suddenly fell back against his throne. Ugh… Being a king was not all it was cracked up to be…

"Isaac, you're no good to us stressed out like this. If you don't keep a good head on your shoulders, you'll make a bad decision for the country. Last thing you want is for Mages to become like Normans and suppress the normal humans," Hollis explained, ever the wise tactician. "You take a vacation, clear your head. I'll pull a Mage's of the Round Table and gather up the rest of Exile to make decisions while you're gone."

Isaac pondered that for a moment. During what mages were calling, The Dragon's Return- a war which began when Adamine returned to Lancet and made her presence known- the mages of Exile had turned their backs on their slave masters. Hollis, Katja, and Sven had chosen death over living as assassins and joined Adamine, Isaac, and Urian in a full scale mage rebellion assisted by the strongest guilds in Fiore… another reason Toma wanted Zac to wed Hisui. Now, Isaac had enlisted them all as noblemen and women.

Katja and Sven led assassin operations. Felix was over the military. Colin was over gate keeping. Hollis's job was to guard the king and be his regent when he was out. Why give them all such high positions then not allow them to operate in them? Besides, Isaac _was_ tired. He could use a vacation more than he could use deciding on taxes and laws…

He shook his head hard. No! No! There was too much civil rights stuff going on right now. He was the singular governmental head. He needed to be here to assist his people.

Hollis let out a pent up sigh then snapped his fingers. "I really didn't want to have to do this, Isaac, but it's for the best."

Katja appeared with Sven at her side. The brother and sister duo that used to keep themselves covered stood tall. Katja pulled her niqab from her face then explained, "I'm sorry, Zac, but you need a vacation." She ungloved one of her poisonous hands.

Immediately, Isaac knew what was going on. The feathers within his skin rippled. His body lunged away from the throne. "No! Oh, no! You are not going to touch me!"

Katja looked to Hollis. Instead of him moving, the phoenix on his throne chomped down on Isaac's shirt. The sharp teeth inside of the beast's beak were serrated. There was no way Isaac's shirt was going to come out of this unharmed.

Hastily, he shred out of the clothing. His bare chest was now an open target for Katja's toxic body. He didn't even realize just how bad he'd screwed up until Sven caught his king in a headlock.

The shorter boy held the king's writhing body, and Katja carefully approached. "I hate to do it this way, King Isaac, but this is the only way you'll relax. Think of it like this, at least you get to go on vacation. We still have to run the government while you're gone."

"No! You get away from me right now, Kat!" Isaac demanded. His voice was all authoritative and kingly, but it didn't deter Katja one bit. Isaac hissed in half assed rage when her poisonous claws stroked the side of his face.

One second Isaac was awake. The next second, everything went black. As his head fell forward, he muttered, "You guys suck…"

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><p><strong>Yay! Exile shenanigans. For those of you who follow my other stories, I'm glad that I got to show you this new facet of my former bad guys.<strong>

**Y'all have a good night, and I would really appreciate it if you would fill out that nice little box at the bottom of this page. You know, it's the one where it mentions something about reviewing. :)**

**I don't care what you write. You could just say banana, and if it made me smile, I would give you a mental high five.**

**Bye, bye Fairy Tail fans!**


	2. Stolen Sight

Stolen Sight

The rolling crash of waves against the hull of a wooden ship had Isaac opening his eyes. Instinctively, his hand jerked upwards to the seal that covered his eye, and after feeling a smooth mask over his face instead of that accursed eye patch, Isaac let out a sigh of relief. Still, it didn't stop him from feeling confused.

Calloused fingertips lazily smoothed out against cotton sheets, and when Isaac's seeing eye looked up to the ceiling, he noted the way the wooden beams stretched the expanse of his suite. The longer he stared up at the wooden beams, the quicker he remembered just how he got into this situation. Katja, Sven, and Hollis.

Of course, and if Isaac wasn't a complete idiot, he would make sure to add Felix and Colin in that group of mages as well. Felix probably got this ship from the naval shipyard then Colin snuck them out from one of Lancet's hidden ports. If anything, Isaac's ship probably escaped via the Magic Railroad that Normans still didn't know how to find.

Growling deep in his chest, Isaac threw his legs over the side of his king sized bed. All around him, luxurious furnishings lined the king's suite. A wardrobe shipped in from the Pergrande Kingdom sat proudly in the corner of the space. There was a set of living chairs that had been a gift from Fiore standing directly in front of him.

This ship was one that had gotten nearly destroyed in one of the early wars in Lancet, but somehow the _King of the Sea_ had made it out alive enough to float its way back to the capital. The ship was a heirloom, older than Isaac's deceased human mother and possibly older than the civil war. Of course, Exile would ship him out in something nice and comfy for the beginnings of his so called vacation. A vacation Isaac would be returning from as soon as he found the captain of this vessel.

After donning his trademark dark grey trench coat, Isaac set his wide collar to rights in the mirror. There were two things that Isaac hated leaving the house without. One was his ivory and ebony masquerade mask that covered the bottom left of his jaw before flaring out high above his left eye. Two was his black trench coat. As long as those two articles of clothing were on his body, Isaac knew that he could keep his ruined body safely hidden from prying eyes.

He ruffled his dark hair in the mirror for a moment before deciding that he didn't look like he'd gotten into a fight with a mattress and lost. As soon as his one purple eye judged that he looked kingly and authoritative, Isaac set his march to the bedroom door.

His combat booted feet took one single step. Then, all hell broke loose.

What sounded like a cannon blast rocked the entire ship. Isaac's fingernails blackened when they distended into wickedly sharp talons, and as the ship was thrust starboard, he braced himself by digging his talons inside of the wooden walls.

Deep ruts dug against the interior of the ship, but Isaac didn't waste time worrying about his family's heirloom. Instead, he used the talons dug inside the walls to give himself leverage against the rocking ship.

His wings rustled underneath the surface of his skin. He could feel their desire to be set free from their fleshy cage, and he was thankful Katja had given him the trench coat with the pleated cut outs for his wings. As soon as he entered the hallway, Isaac loosed his ebony raven wings.

The black members spanned wider than he was tall. All seven and a half feet of feathered, fallen angel wings stole away any extra space in the corridor. With a single, powerful thrust Isaac's body was thrown from one end of the hall then straight through the door to the deck. His dark talons burst through the wooden hatch first, and using his demonic senses, Isaac tackled a man to the floor.

Instantly, a sharp cry filled his ears. "D-Demon!" the man squealed.

Giving the man a grin worthy of a demon's face, Isaac explained, "Not quite yet, Norman." His talons rose. With the mere mention of "Light Catcher" Isaac stole the man's sight from his very eyes.

"The hell is going on here?" Isaac roared. All around him cannonballs berated the sides of the ship. Men loosed their battle cries. Blades kissed metal against metal. Despite it all, with one roared question, the battle came to a stop.

All eyes turned to the fallen angel standing in the middle of the majestic battleship. His proud wings stretched out on either side of him, and his jaw was tilted in an arrogant display. Isaac was the perfect image of heaven as he waited patiently for his answer.

With his seeing eye Isaac scanned the men around him. Around him stood his navy, a small battalion of mages and Normans who'd been released from slavery. Next to them were their attackers, a group of rough hewn pirate marauders that had no damned business on his ship.

Isaac's talons lengthened, and he could feel his doubled canines dripping down in his mouth. Was there no one to explain this intrusion on his privacy? Could no one explain why the hell mages were on _his_ ship trying to steal what _he_ owned after he risked his neck to rescue _them_ from suppression?

The fear in their eyes was obvious as Isaac approached. His wings spanned out to their full length, and he stepped closer to one of the marauders nearest to him. In the silence of the battle, Isaac's combat boots played an ominous melody against the wooden deck. At his side, summoned darkness played.

Shadows appeared where there should have been none, and when Isaac was within arm's length of an enemy mage, the male tumbled straight back on his ass. "You," Isaac commanded, "Explain to me why I shouldn't kill you all here and now for intruding on my property." When the man merely whimpered, Isaac leaned in closely. He mentioned, "Speak now before I snatch your tongue from between your lips forever."

Apparently weighing his options, the man gave a hard swallow. He appeared to be trying to determine whether he still had a tongue for Isaac to snatch or not before he parted his lips. As soon as a whisper of sound escaped from his opened mouth, the male was cut off.

A new angel appeared. She fluttered down with majestic ivory wings and long, flowing hair as pale as snow. If the men had looked stunned by fear of Isaac's winged presence, they appeared petrified at the sight of this new, white angel.

Isaac on the other hand just looked disgusted. He spat, "Umbrianna."

The angel let out a pleased bout of laughter. "You don't seem too happy to see your mother after all these years, Isaac. Remember, I am the one who found you as a lost babe in the middle of a house fire then nursed you to back to life. The least you could do is give your mother a smile." The angel's lips curved upwards. She was stunning when the smiled. Her perfect, even white teeth were distraction enough from the doubled canines on either side of her mouth. The sight of that kind grin seemed like it should have been enough to chase away the shadows. If anything, her light just made them grow.

Instead of grinning, Isaac sneered. His upper lip curled into seething disgust, and he snarled, "What do you want with me? You made it damned clear that I was nothing but a pawn in your hands, a tool to be used for Zeref."

Umbrianna cradled her face in one fragile seeming palm. Those hands may have look slender and feminine, but Isaac knew himself just how unforgiving they could be when locked around your throat.

She appeared to be in deep thought before she finally exclaimed, "Oh! Yes, of course. I couldn't remember if that was before or after you escaped me. Must have been before. Anyway, I have a new pawn now. The pathetic fool believes me to be an angel sent from the Heavens to rid the world of demons like you." Her slim finger pointed his way as she kept up that endearing grin.

"And may I ask just who would be stupid enough to believe that a witch like you is anything other than a demon?" he growled back.

"Oh, come now, Isaac. You know how these contracts work. People these days are so concerned with privacy. I had to add a whole new page to the terms and conditions on my contract. Also, I'm very disappointed in you. Witch? You could have used something much more intricate. I thought I raised you to be a better demon."

"I am no demon no matter how many times you call me by such a name!" Shadows wrapped around his entire arm. He would have launched the darkness straight at her, if it wouldn't just get eaten by her befanged mouth.

"Call it what you like, love, but that eye says otherwise." She rolled her fingertip in the air before directing it at Isaac's left eye. Just by being in Umbrianna's presence, the demonic side of him grew. The eye he kept hidden from the world glowed feverishly behind the mask, and the curse of Umbrianna's charming voice toyed around in his mind. "It's not like your loving mother would give you just any old eyeball. Besides, doesn't yours just look fabulous on me?" She flipped her hair out of her left eye and revealed a purple iris.

He could have cursed. Instead, Isaac chose to hold his lips in a firm, flat line. Umbrianna was beating around the bush. She said that she'd come here on a contract. If her contract was to rid the world of demons like him then why was she still chit-chatting with him? She had something up her sleeve. Isaac needed to find out what.

Like a predator, he stalked closer to the white angel. Yes, Isaac could see how someone could confuse the shadow demoness for an angel based upon appearances. Isaac had once made that foolish mistake himself, but the white purity was just a mask. Underneath it all, Umbrianna was darker than all the feathers that lined his raven wings.

And the men around her? No. They weren't demons. They were idiots. Idiots that had been charmed by a white angel with a pretty façade.

The shadows that he had been given danced around him. Isaac could likely fight against his demon mother, but the likelihood that he could defeat her was slim. Umbrianna worked under contracts. Depending on the magical power of her contractor, she could potentially double in strength. By the looks of things now, Umbrianna was at her peak. The woman's false light stretched so far that it extended his shadows across the main deck of the ship.

"As much as I hate to do this, my darling son, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to turn your vacation into a permanent one. Don't worry, though. Once I'm done with your friends in the castle, I'll come after your darling Adamine and Urian. There won't be anyone to avenge your death when I get done with your country. Such a shame that you don't have the same aspirations as my current client. I raised such a lazy demon boy." Her blue and purple eyes cut his way at the term demon then she snapped her fingers.

Immediately, the men that had been frozen in fear moved. Shadows connected from Umbrianna's feet to their bodies, and like puppets they moved to her command.

Bodies launched themselves at him, and Isaac roared when cannonballs were loaded to be shot at his ship. His massive wings cradled men, throwing them backwards. His black nails shred skin, but never did he aim for vitals. Isaac's talons dug into flesh, but they never hit a main artery. It was a mistake.

Men recovered quickly due to their possessed state. They piled up on top of him, holding him in place. Shadows stole their vision. Talons sunk into their bodies. Wings threw them into the ocean. It was all in vain.

Isaac's men were taken down one by one, and Isaac was forced to fall against the weight of blades against his skin. Metal slashed his arms. Blood spewed forth. A cacophony of rioting filled Isaac's ears, and before he knew it, the very wooden planks he stood atop were blown to bits.

The screams in his ears turned to ringing. Wood shoved itself inside of his legs and arms. Like hundreds of stakes the planks pinned him through his wings. His battleship became his enemy as he tumbled through the destroyed hull of the ship.

Beams snapped. Catching one of them with his face, Isaac spat blood. His claws reached out, and they dug deeply into the tumbling beams. Somewhere in the distance he could hear his mother's laughter. It was dark. It was haunting. It was her true self.

One more cannon fired away into his battleship. The whizzing ball slammed into the wall directly in front of him. Wood spewed out from the blow. Isaac could see the water nearing below. Before Isaac could retract his wings back inside of him, he was already in the ocean.

Bombs continued to go off around him. In the salty water, Isaac watched men splash up against the currents. He kept his vision right until the end. He kept his vision right until the moment where he took a wooden beam to the gut.

The beam speared him like a skewered fish. Blood erupted, filling the water and calling the sharks. Isaac could do nothing but howl in pain until the ocean stole his sight.

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><p><strong>Well, didn't I just end that on a happy note? Okay, y'all, I'm going to be putting up chapter three, so don't leave this story quite yet. I have to introduce my lovely female warrior.<strong>

**Please, leave me a review. I love those. No reviews = no more chapters put up. Don't discourage me, y'all!**


	3. Driftwood

**(Enter stage right) Kagura Mikazuchi and her lovely comrade Milianna!**

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><p>Driftwood<p>

"A beauty pageant?" Kagura Mikazuchi wondered as she and Millianna walked down the beach. The ocean kissed the sandy shore, spreading foam out along the white earth. It was quiet out here today. The only real sounds came from the squawking of seagulls and the crunching of sand underneath the two women's boots.

It had been the perfect day to train. Kagura and Millianna had recently come back from a mission, and since most of the other mages at Mermaid Heel were out on jobs of their own, they had decided to pass some time by battling it out on the beach. With the training out of the way and with no one really in the guild, tactics had turned out to walking down the beach.

Millianna crouched down to snatch a spiral seashell up from the shore. She played with it like a cat with a ball of yarn as she replied, "Yup. It's going to be held in Crocus. There are even going to be male models this time from all the guilds. I hear that Mirajane can't find a single guy in Fairy Tail to do it. I heard from Erza that her little sister, Lisanna has an idea. Remember the Lancet Prince, Urian?"

Kagura tilted her head. Yes. She did remember Urian. He was a particularly handsome man who knew just how good looking he was. Women had swooned in his presence, and men had looked on at him jealously. If Kagura remembered right, the womanizer had specialized in a form of God Slaying magic. She believed that it was ice.

Urian and Kagura had seen each other several times when they had been getting ready to go to war to liberate Lancet. It had been Mermaid Heel's job to breech the Wall dividing the kingdom and knock out guards that hadn't gone to Adamine's wedding. Neither one had gotten much time to talk to the other, but she did know that Milianna was currently nursing a crush on the male.

"So, he will represent Fairy Tail. That must be good for him. I'm sure he's enjoying it." Kagura kept her gaze straight ahead. The sun was setting to the west of Fiore. It was one of her favorite sights, and Kagura tended to make sure that she never missed it. The setting sun always gave her a quiet moment to remember her brother Simon and the sacrifice he made for Erza.

"Yeah. I want to go to the pageant to see him do male modeling. The prize is 500,000 jewel to the guild that wins. We could participate," Millianna mentioned, more so interested in seeing Urian than actually partaking in the pageant.

Kagura's eyes were still on the sunset even as she asked, "Is that all? What does the pageant entail?"

"Well, there are different rounds. There's formalwear, casual wear, swimsuit, and there's even a round on world history. The contest is open to guilds from Lancet as well. King Toma and Princess Hisui even invited King Isaac from Lancet in hopes of establishing a better view on mages for their Non-Mages. One of the guilds that I know will be coming from Lancet is called Kindred Spirit. The actual single winner of the competition gets two tickets to a private hot spring. They also get to pick from any of the contestants, and their chosen contestant has to go with them according to rules. So, there's technically four winners," Milianna explained.

Kagura finally gave a pause. She remembered King Isaac as well. They had met personally to discuss the division of groups to be assigned to the Wall. He was a very tall male. He had tattooed line eyeliner around his right eye, and his left eye was covered in a strangely shaped black and white mask. She had enjoyed talking with him. He had a sense of leadership and loyalty to him. Although she didn't know his magic, Kagura had left Lancet fully believing that he would make a fine king for the kingdom. Much like his half-brother, Isaac was also extremely handsome. It appeared looks ran in their family since Adamine was a stunning woman as well.

Without meaning for it to slip from her mouth, Kagura absentmindedly wondered, "Will King Isaac partake in the modeling?" Not that she wanted to see him model or anything of course! She was just interested in that strange mask of his!

Milianna let a playful grin cross her face. She leaned in and chimed, "I haven't heard of that yet, but he might. I hear that Hisui is debating on joining the modeling."

Now that was shocking. With what little Kagura knew of Hisui, she seemed like a quiet, reserved woman who was determined but shy with her plays. She didn't appear to act in the strongest confidence at all times, but she was confidant in her abilities with her country. It was an ironic combination.

For a short moment, Kagura pondered the possibilities of engagement between Hisui and King Isaac. The likelihood was high. Toma was a full supporter of mage freedom, and it sounded like this modeling competition was held solely for Lancet to see the truth behind mages and their behaviors, the truth that they were normal human beings. It would be a very strategic play if Isaac did marry the Celestial Spirit Mage.

Kagura made a move to turn the bend around the shore, but as soon as she did, her eyes met something curious. Something large and black had washed up on the shore. Crimson pooled around it, and that could only mean one thing: blood.

Instinctively, Kagura held her hand up to halt Milianna's chattering. "Be ready," she warned.

Milianna's feline shaped eyes went from Kagura's defensive stance then they trailed to her hand readying at her blade. The sight caused her hackles to rise. She readied her magic just in case.

Brown eyes surveyed the scene around her. The large, black object was surrounded by flotsam that had washed ashore, and upon closer inspection, Kagura acknowledged that the black mass wasn't _just_ a black mass. It was large wings lined thickly with raven dark feathers. In the dusk light they glistened blue.

They were beautiful feathers, but Kagura couldn't see what lay beneath them. There were no large birds that stalked the western shore of Fiore. If anyone had seen a bird with wings that spanned longer than she was tall, surely he or she would have reported it.

With her sword at the ready, Kagura stepped closer. Her sheath eased forward to pull up one of the heavy extensions, and what she saw froze her in her tracks.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Well, in this case it was speak of a king, and he shall appear. As sure as they had been talking about him, King Isaac Grigori Von Kaiser was laid out beneath those massive wings.

His face was ruined. Blood washed the entire side of it from what she could see, and his wings, as beautiful as they were, had been mangled to such an extent that there was no way they weren't broken. The more Kagura perused his unconscious form, the more wounds she noticed on Isaac's body.

"Milianna, go to the guild. We need to get him inside quickly," she barked, voice full of concern for the man atop her blade.

Milianna gave a quick salute before pouncing back towards the guild.

Still, Kagura couldn't leave him. She dropped to her knees, feeling them sink into the pearl white sand. Her mind was full of questions. How had he washed up in southern Fiore when Lancet was straight west? What was his body doing drifting in the ocean? Had another war begun?

It had been months since they believed they'd liberated Lancet. Perhaps, the Normans had a secret weapon up their sleeve?

Either way, Kagura lightly gripped Isaac's giant wings. Was he a Take Over mage like the Take Over Siblings? If that was the case then why didn't he shift forms when he was rendered unconscious?

She had no clue. Take Over Mages were supposed to go back to their original forms after being defeated. Isaac had not. She'd never heard of such magic, and when she finally got him flipped onto his back, those massive wings weren't the only things she stared out.

Isaac's lips were parted, and he didn't just have sharp canines. Isaac had legitimate fangs, two pairs of them!

Kagura found herself enchanted by them. If she had to be honest, she found herself enchanted by all of him from his majestic, broken wings to his strange mask that had somehow remained on his face. He looked like a beautiful leopard in a cage, all sleek and dark but meant not to touch. No matter how hard your fingers itched to run through that silken fur.

As if she couldn't help herself, Kagura reached up towards his mask. She had never seen him without it. Even out of battle, Isaac kept the masquerade mask atop his pale skin.

Her fingertips smoothed across the hand crafted piece of artwork over his left eye. The mask was wonderful. It ran in sharp angles and melded perfectly to his face. Whoever had crafted this piece had done so solely for their king.

Kagura's hand slipped the mask askew on his face, and when the skin that was always hidden from her finally appeared, she couldn't keep from sliding the piece fully away from his face. What she saw there took her breath.

Three claw marks ran down the length of his face. They ruined the skin of his eyelid and ran all the way down before connecting with the corner of his sculpted lips.

"So, this is what you're hiding," Kagura mentioned, still glancing about Isaac's face. With his hair and mask not in the way, she noted that he had matching piercings on either ear. Two met at the top of his ear's cartilage. The other two matched at his earlobes. She wondered just where else King Isaac was pierced at.

As soon as she heard footsteps charging in from behind her, Kagura slipped his mask right back where she'd found it. She didn't know why, but the thought of the others seeing him without his mask on didn't feel honorable. The fact that she had peeked wasn't honorable either, but she'd been doing so to check for any battle wounds. Yes. That was all. There was no other reason she wanted to see what he hid.

Suddenly ashamed at herself, Kagura turned to see her teammates dashing towards her. "Is that who I think it is?" Risley commented after one look at the large heap of mangled wings and black that was King Isaac.

"There's no way," Araña mentioned. Her hand came up to her lips, and she stared in shock at the sight of proud King Isaac draped out on the beach like driftwood.

"We have to get him to the guild," Kagura explained. She got down and lifted, well tried to lift, Isaac from the sand. If it wasn't for the dead weight of his wings, she probably could have done it. Quickly enough, Risley changed her body shape with her magic. The woman snagged Isaac's other side, and the two of them proceeded to haul him off in the direction of the guild.

A metallic clanking caught Araña's ears, and when she glanced to the ground, she noted Isaac's flask. How that thing had survived whatever had gotten the king sent here was beyond her. Despite it all, she snatched it up and walked behind her guild mates towards. In the few, fleeting times she'd seen Isaac, he'd never had his flask too far away. She could at least bring him something familiar.

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><p><strong>Just curious, how do you feel about our lovely demon king needing to drink blood to survive? I feel as if it goes hand in hand with his fallen angel looks and doubled up canines. Tell me what you think.<strong>


	4. Fallen Angel

**Good day, fellow FanFictioners! It is me, AdamineTerra! Tonight, I'll be bringing you two chapters of King Isaac goodness. Why? Because I have something comedic coming up in the chapter after this one. So, keep an eye out for my second update tonight.**

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><p>Fallen Angel<p>

"So now what do we do?" Millianna questioned once they'd hauled Isaac back to the guild.

He looked like some kind of tragic statue draped out in their infirmary. Already, guild members had heard rumor of a man, an angel, that had been brought into the building. Their prying eyes could be felt from a mile away, and in this estrogen thick guild it was no wonder they were so curious.

No male had ever seen the inside of Mermaid Heel and survived long enough to even _want_ to talk about it. This was the first time the opposite sex had been in the guild hall without having to sneak in. He was becoming a celebrity, even unconscious. Also, a rumor was spreading like wildfire. Everyone believed that Isaac was some kind of tragic angel that had washed ashore no matter how many times Kagura explained that he was the King of Lancet not a fallen angel.

Once they'd made sure no one could sneak in to get a glimpse of the _fallen angel_, Kagura and her team had holed up inside of the infirmary.

"We should alert Fairy Tail as soon as possible. Adamine and her cousin need to know that Isaac is here," Kagura explained simply.

"The last time that I spoke to Erza, she mentioned that Adamine was gone on a job with the Raijinshuu. No one knows where Urian is," Milianna replied.

Risley added, "If he was supposed to be going to the contest in Crocus, we could just take him there when we go."

"When we go?" Araña asked.

"I thought we were going. Aren't we going?" Beth piped up.

Kagura weighed her options. While it was true that they could just show up with Isaac, the most proper thing to do would be to tell his relatives that he'd been attacked. Then again, Kagura hadn't decided whether or not to go to that competition. By the looks on her guild mates' faces, they were probably going anyway.

Besides, Kagura wanted to know just what had happened to get Isaac in this state. She glanced down at him with a studious expression on her face. Now that all the blood and dirt was washed off, she could get an idea of what he really looked like.

His hair was a spiky mess so black it tinted blue in the dusk light. Stray strands had fallen into his face, and his lips were still parted to flaunt those fangs of his. He had a straight nose. On either side of that was smooth, flat planes and high cheekbones. He looked just like a fancy, sculpted angel that should have been decorating the exterior of a building or standing in some elegant corridor.

Cuts and open gashes lined his skin when he'd first come in, but as soon as Kagura and Milianna had washed the dirt out of his wounds, they had sealed over instantly. Isaac had a miraculous healing ability. Kagura just couldn't place why he healed the way he did or looked the way he did from his mangled wings to his blackened nails.

For a man with such a grand healing ability, he should have been able to withstand any hit. When the girls had checked for water in his lungs, there had been none, so it hadn't been a drowning. What had happened to King Isaac?

Finally, Kagura drew her line. She explained, "We will tell Adamine that we have her relative. Also, we'll be taking part in the modeling competition. I need a reason to get to Crocus and discuss this incident with Hisui and King Toma."

"Want me to send a letter to Fairy Tail?" Milianna suggested.

"No. A matter this large needs to be spoken about in person. Something happened on Isaac's trip, and I want to ensure that another war isn't about to start." Kagura rose, body language volunteering herself.

Movement had her caramel eyes glancing downwards. Isaac's hand had gone from the side of the bed to his head. His blackened fingernails dug into the sides of his head, and when he opened his one visible eye, all the women leaned in.

"I've never seen him up close," Beth whispered. She leaned particularly close to Isaac, and Kagura couldn't help herself. She was doing it too. They all were, but Kagura was the only one who seemed to be berating herself for it.

Isaac's full lips parted. There was a crease in the middle where his bottom lip got fullest. His voice cracked when he croaked, "Am I in Heaven?"

Heaven? "Why do you think you're in Heaven?" Kagura wondered, backing up to a more proper stance. That phrase got her thinking he just might have been a fallen angel.

Isaac cast her a grin that rivaled the charm of his extremely handsome brother. She felt her face flush slightly. "It's not every day that a man wakes up with five beautiful women hanging over him," his broken voice explained.

Kagura couldn't even think of a response to that. Answering for her was Risley. The larger woman mentioned, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Isaac bowed his dark head then adjusted himself on the bed. His large wings draped off either side of it, and when he moved, the agony on his face was obvious. Still, he tried to sit up straighter. His visible, purple eye scanned the room. He looked from the women around him then to the infirmary which was decorated in mermaid statues and powerful female warriors.

"Do you know where I am?" he wondered.

Kagura explained, "You're at the guild Mermaid Heel. We found you washed up on the shore."

Isaac nodded his head slowly as if he couldn't comprehend what she was saying. "And, who are you?" he asked.

Now, Kagura blinked. He had to have remembered Mermaid Heel. Isaac had personally set Kagura and her team to work with a Lancet guild that went by the name of Grimm. Together Mermaid Heel and Grimm had taken out Lancet guards to break down a wall that divided mages and normal humans. She and Isaac had danced in his castle the night he celebrated his victory over the Normans.

Still, she explained, "My name is Kagura Mikazuchi, and this is my team." She gestured to the women behind her.

"Milianna at your service!"

"Risley Law," a larger woman sporting Native American clothing greeted.

"Beth Vanderwood."

"Araña Webb. Don't you remember me?"

Araña leaned closely into Isaac, and she checked him out from top to bottom. Isaac just shook his head.

"No. No, I'm sorry. Have I met you before? If I have, then would you happen to know my name?"

Now, Kagura's eyebrows rose. This was a standard case of amnesia. She definitely needed to get Isaac sent to Fairy Tail now. Adamine and Urian had to know about this as soon as possible.

"Your name is Isaac Grigori von Kaiser. You are the King of Lancet. You personally sent out a request to Fiore for mages of S class rank and higher to partake in the siege of your country," Kagura explained in all authority.

Isaac leaned back to scratch his head. The look was so splendidly boyish that all the girls swooned. "Sounds like I was a pretty important man then." At just that moment his stomach gave a large growl and his boyish grin got even wider. "Excuse me. I must not have eaten before you found me."

Kagura's jaw could have dropped. Must not have eaten. He didn't remember anything! She cast her group a bewildered expression, but they just shrugged. This was awful! He was a king, and he'd been attacked. There could still be people after him, and he wouldn't even know why they were there to harm him. Did he even remember how to fight?

Kagura was about to open her mouth to speak when Milianna chimed, "How about we get you something to eat? Then, we can tell you more about yourself!"

"That would be wonderful. Thank you." Isaac made a move to get up from the bed, but his large wings obviously pained him. They were still broken and bent at odd angles. Of course, they were causing him discomfort. Still, he tried to stand up. As soon as he made a single whimper of pain, all the girls were on him.

"No! You have to stay in bed," Risley scolded. Her hands were on his shoulders to push him gently to the bed.

Milianna appeared with a stuffed cat and rested it in the bed with the man. "Tiggie will keep you comfy."

"Yes, lie down and let us take care of everything," Araña soothed. She picked up his flask. "Nothing a fresh bit of liquor can't help when it comes to pain. Eh?"

"I know exactly what you need! Some vegetable stew will help heal you right up! Gimme a little bit, and I'll have it right out for ya. Okay?" Beth cast him a girlish grin. As soon as he cast her that heartwarming smile, the girl seemed to swoon right out the door.

Kagura put her hand on the doorframe of the infirmary. Well, he was obviously going to be well taken care of. She intoned, "I will get a message out to your cousin about your amnesia." For some reason, she didn't want to leave the king's side. He was in need of assistance, and Kagura felt inclined to protect him. She was the one to find him on the shore anyway. It was her duty.

"Cousin?" he asked.

"Yes. You have a cousin named Adamine Terra, and a brother named Urian Lancet. No one knows where he is at the moment though."

"Why do my brother and I have different last names?"

"He's your half-brother I suspect. Anyway, I'll be back shortly. With you being in the state that you are, I don't want you to not have someone protecting you at all times. With your status, it could spell trouble for your kingdom. Now, if I could just…" Kagura pushed on the door. When it opened just the slightest bit, she figured out what was holding it back. Girls from the guild were trying to peek in at Isaac. One scowl from Kagura, and they all fled like rabbits from a starved wolf.

While she closed the door behind her, she heard Isaac say, "Thank you."

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><p><strong>Aw, Izzy is cute when he has amnesia. Everyone needs a little Isaac in their life. He's so adorable.<strong>

**Alright, guys, you know the drill. This is the spot where I request for you to review me.**

**Soooo... Review me? Please? Maybe? Just a little bit? These reviews are so important to me. I love reading comments from my viewers. It keeps the inspiration flowing.**

**I hope you all have a very merry (insert December holiday here).**


	5. Forgotten Blood

**Guys, is it Millianna or Milianna? I read both of them, and I'm not sure if it's one L or two. Eh... names. They kill me.**

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><p>Forgotten Blood<p>

"He's got WHAT?" Adamine screamed. Even though Adamine wasn't there in person, her voice howled louder than Natsu's fired up yelling from the diamond in Mira's hand.

From her projected state on the letter sent to Fairy Tail, Kagura calmly restated, "Your cousin washed ashore, and it seems that he has amnesia. We have him in Mermaid Heel's infirmary as we speak, but before I do anything with him, I need to know what you suggest."

In the diamond Adamine ran a hand through her caramel locks. Kagura was entranced by the diamond. Adamine Terra was both the Princess of Lancet and one of the most powerful dragon slayers currently known in Fiore. She was an adamantine dragon slayer and possessed a seemingly boundless amount of magical power. She had opened up a new standard on dragon slaying magic, and that was the manipulation of her element. Adamine could use diamonds as cameras and force the tectonic plates to bend to her will. Even though the latter almost always caused her to bleed from the nose and pass out, the fact that she possessed such an ability was an accomplishment in itself. Kagura respected the woman immensely.

Through the facets of the diamond, Kagura could see Adamine's teammates. Sure as Milianna had said, Adamine was with the Raijinshuu. Bickslow had his elbow on Adamine's head. Evergreen was eyeing Kagura expectantly. Freed awaited Adamine's suggestion.

The woman let out a pent up sigh. "Well, there's not much that I can do. If I get involved, it'll alert the kingdom. Normans all over Lancet would attempt to re-siege the castle, and mages would be back at square one. I'd bet coin that this is all Gatlin's doing." Her usually kind, playful eyes got hot and cold at the same time. Kagura could only imagine the emotions running through Adamine's body at the idea of her ex-arranged fiancé's hand in overthrowing equality.

"What about Exile? I know that Isaac appointed them to rule in his stead," Kagura mentioned, remembering the once criminals now nobles that ran Lancet.

Kagura had only briefly met them at Isaac's castle siege celebration, but they were powerful mages. While the only female member, Katja, had seemed to follow Isaac's every move at the soiree, she knew that the woman had a powerful ability with her Poison Body Magic. Kagura and Katja had gotten along quite well with one another.

Adamine tapped her fingertip on her plump bottom lip then a sudden idea flashed across her face. "Hollis is probably already on the seat for him. I have an idea, Kagura, and it will require your help." She paused, and when Kagura didn't interrupt, she continued, "I want Mermaid Heel to keep Isaac for me. I would like to assume that his amnesia is from a spell all Lancet foreigners are given when they're shipped somewhere else, so I'll contact Bickslow's sisters in Fiore. They can wake up his memories, but before they get there, I'll go back to Lancet to see what's going on. Try to find a suspect. I have people searching for Urian. He's gone off the grid ever since we landed back in Fiore. When he learns of this, I'm sure he'll help me with the search for the culprit. How does 500,000,000 jewel sound for keeping a king under lock and key?"

The Raijinshuu broke in before Kagura could reply. At the same time, they all cried, "You have 500,000,000 jewel just laying around!"

She stuck her tongue out at her comrades through the diamond in Mira's hands. "No! I don't, but Isaac's treasury does. Since I'm still the Princess of Lancet, I have access to it. It was something Isaac, Urian, and I decided. We all have power over the country. Uri and I just govern it without living there. It's our In-Case-Of-Emergency Vault. This is an emergency," she replied simply.

Under his breath Bickslow seemed to grumble, "And, you dug out that cave by the creek for a house. You could have just bought a mansion."

He was walloped upside the head. Adamine chimed, "Homemade things are much better than purchased ones. That's why you built all of that furniture for me. Remember?"

Even in the middle of this serious conversation, Adamine and Bickslow's affectionate glares somehow made the atmosphere light and flirtatious. Those two were pathetic, but it did cause Mira and Evergreen to swoon. Freed and Kagura just looked on blankly.

Clearing her throat to break the love spell, Kagura responded, "That's much more than the guild needs, but I will gladly accept your offer. While you're looking into Lancet, I'll discuss the matter with King Toma and Princess Hisui. Surely, they would know something."

Adamine's eyes jerked hastily from Bickslow's attention, and she inclined her head. The flirty scowl on her face had disappeared. Replacing it was a serious look of sheer determination. Now, that was the Adamine Terra that Kagura respected. The slayer was goofy, but she got all of her jobs done and done well.

"I'll prepare your money and be on my way to Lancet at once," Adamine mentioned. She hefted a leather backpack onto her shoulder then looked towards the black winged canine flying at her head. Adamine had a canine version of an Exceed. Its species was titled Hellhound. It was a creature made by Zeref himself. Looking at the Hellhound, Adamine wondered, "Ready for our first solo in forever, Black Pearl?"

Before Kagura could note what was going on between the canine and Adamine, the woman snapped the camera spell off her diamond. The picture faded out. Shimmering facets of diamond took the place of their faces. With a final waving goodbye from Mirajane, Kagura was left standing outside of Mermaid Heel.

She had to speak to her guild master. Sirenia would need to know that Mermaid Heel had just been presented with their first S Class Guardian job. Since Kagura had set up her message delivery magic to record the conversation, Sirenia would have the mission in written format. Thus, the job should get approve.

Kagura was just about to get headed to the upstairs office of her guild master when a high pitched screech came from the bar. Hastily, she turned her attention and bolted from Mermaid Heel's private phone booth.

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><p>Araña leaped back as soon as she saw bloody whiskey pouring out of Isaac's flask. The brownish-crimson substance splashed all across the wood bar and flowed over onto the travertine floors. Every time the red liquid dripped from the countertop, her gut tightened up inside.<p>

Blood. What the hell was _blood_ doing in a flask?

The thought that Isaac's pink lips let such a substance flow into his handsome body made the guy go from superhot to totally not.

When Kagura's body leaped into action with one hand on her sheathed blade, Araña couldn't even let a word muster up from her lips. She was still too shocked that what had smelt like corn whiskey was actually laced with… blood.

Her leader took one look at the blood on the counter and barked, "What happened in here?"

Araña couldn't do anything. She just pointed to the flask. She was stunned silent.

Carefully, Kagura approached the bar. She took in the sight of Isaac's leather wrapped flask pouring blood out into the sink, and it didn't even seem to deter her. Of course, it wouldn't. This was Kagura they were talking about. Nothing got Kagura riled up.

Trying to regain her composure, Araña forced herself to explain, "I don't know what the hell that man is into, but he has blood laced whiskey in his flask."

Kagura narrowed her brown eyes. The chocolaty orbs took in the flask one last time. Without even questioning it, Kagura reached into the sink and began to rinse the blood off before it could stain the leather. "Araña, that's crazy. I told you not to watch that new vampire series on lacrima TV before bed every night.

Araña couldn't believe her ears. She snapped, "The proof is right in front of you, Kagura. Don't think this is just because I like watching _Type A_ on the Midian TV channel that I'm crazy. This guy is drinking blood. Obviously!"

Kagura gave her comrade an expression that read, "Please, come on."

Once the liquor and blood was washed off of Isaac's flask, Kagura dried it off. That water was going to ruin the leather, but at least it wouldn't be stained. Since Isaac was in her care, she could get him a new leather case. After that was done, she laid the towel on the counter and turned to Araña. "He was just attacked. It's likely that Isaac's blood wound up in the flask." She brought the flask to her nose and sniffed it. Sure enough, it smelt like salt water. "Smell this. It's even got ocean water in it. Isaac is not a vampire."

"I'm not saying he's a vampire. I know those aren't real, but maybe, he's one of those weird types that pretends to be a vampire. You know, the ones that hang out at goth clubs and wear capes," Araña tried to convince.

Kagura didn't look like she was budging. "This is delusional, Araña. You're usually much more levelheaded about things like these. I tell you. It's that new TV series you've been watching with Risley and Milianna."

The woman shook her dreads hard. "Believe what you want, Kagura, but there was too much blood in there for it to just be from his attack. King Isaac is a vampire cosplayer, and I'm going to prove it," she hissed quietly as women began to eavesdrop on the conversation. Isaac was a popular topic currently, and the women definitely wanted any info they could get.

"Do what you will, but I have to speak to Sirenia. I spoke with Adamine about this, and she offered us 500,000,000 jewel to take care of him while she hunted down who took out his ship." Kagura finished cleaning up the blood and liquor then took a step back towards the guild.

Once more, Araña was stunned silent. She breathed, "500,000,000 jewel. That… That could get us a whole other guild."

"Indeed. I told them it was too much since Isaac won't be a burden, but she insisted. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Just as Kagura started up the stairs, Araña got a plan. Kagura may not have believed her, but she was going to prove that Isaac Grigori was indeed a vampire. Not even a vampire Cosplayer could handle drinking that much blood. Araña had never heard of vampires with angel wings, but they were supposed to be myths anyway. Who knew what they really looked like?

Maybe, instead of bat wings they had angel wings. Wait… Everyone thought he was an angel. A chill ran up Araña's spine as something frightening crossed through her head. What if Isaac wasn't a vampire? What if he was actually a fallen angel that had to drink blood or else he would get sent to Hell?

As Araña approached the infirmary with Isaac's freshly filled flask in her hand, she pondered that. Isaac was unnaturally handsome. He had this perfect pale skin. His skin also healed instantly from any cut. As soon as the dirt that had been in his wounds had gotten cleaned out, the girls had watched his skin actually mend itself back together. The only thing that didn't mend instantly was his giant pair of angel wings. Araña suspected it was just because they had yet to set the wings.

She was both frightened and excited. The girls in the guild just might be right. Mermaid Heel had its very first blood drinking fallen angel in its wake. Araña was going to prove it to everyone. Then, Kagura couldn't look at her like she was stupid. Thrilled by the prospect of proving her wise leader wrong for once, Araña shooed the girls trying to peek into the infirmary and let a sly grin creep up her face. This was going to be fun.

King Isaac had better remember next time not to forget about his blood.

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><p><strong>Let the hijinks begin!<strong>


	6. Flightless Bird

**Hey, everyone! I hope you're having a fabulous day. I am. My family finally finished our last Christmas celebration. FINALLY! Don't get me wrong. Love the food, love the gifts, love the people, but when you gather a whole bunch of people in a room, there will always be pointless bitching. It is at that point that I gather up my laptop and make my way to the furthest electrical outlet.**

**More importantly, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Oh! I strongly suggest listening to Lady Gaga's song Teeth while reading this chapter. It's the most beautiful thing that you will ever do. (listening to music that perfectly fits a story)**

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><p>Flightless Bird<p>

"You are a vampire!"

That phrase had Isaac raising his dark brow at the woman in a skin tight jumpsuit. He blinked at her a couple of times. He wasn't sure what to do. Should he pretend to look offended, or should he burst out into hysterical laughter at such a farfetched accusation?

He was saved from having to do any of that. Millianna tilted her head in a cat-like way. "What on Earthland are you talking about?" she wondered.

Risley stood up from examining the large wings that spanned past the headboard of the bed, and she snickered, "This ain't about the show _Type A_; is it?"

"No!" Araña protested. "It's about the blood that I found in Isaac's flask!"

"Blood?" Millianna turned her head towards Isaac. The man just shrugged with a confused expression across his face.

Risley's snickering turned into full blown laughter. "Oh, no. Araña, you can't be serious. Millianna, I told you she would get too into it. We should have watched it during the daytime instead of before bed."

"Risley, I'm not joking! That man is a vampire. He had whiskey laced with blood in his flask, and I found it when I poured it into the sink. If Kagura hadn't cleaned it all up already, I would have shown it to you!" Araña tried to defend her accusation, but no one looked like they were going to attempt to even see her side of the story.

Risley shook her head. Between laughing, she replied, "That probably got in there during whatever sank Isaac's ship. He's not a vampire. Come here. Just look at his teeth." Risley waved her hands in a motion for Araña to come over there.

With a huff Araña approached. She leaned down but narrowed her eyes at the bewinged man in the bed. If he took one look at Araña's neck, she was going to tie him in a spider web up to the ceiling. See how the vampire liked that with his whiskey.

"Isaac, could you open your mouth for this woman before she starts driving all of us crazy?" Risley wondered.

Isaac, despite his raised brow, agreed. He parted his perfectly sculpted lips and flashed a set of pearly whites.

Araña checked them out. In _Type A_ the fangs had been the teeth in front of the canines. His were flat like the average human's. She scowled then checked out his normal canines. The teeth there were sharp, but they weren't vampire sharp. Araña was sure that if he chomped down on somebody's neck that it could draw blood, but it wouldn't leave the vampire marks. It would just look like a human gnawing on someone's throat.

Then, she remembered something. "What if they're retractable?"

That got Milianna laughing. "Are you saying his teeth are like a kitty's claws?"

"Exactly! I bet with the right amount of stimulation his teeth would come out. Come on, Isaac. Show me your teeth," Araña encouraged. "I swear I won't tell anyone."

Isaac finally couldn't hold back his confusion anymore. He just stated, "What?"

"Show me your teeth," Araña repeated.

"Yeah, Isaac, show us your teeth," Milianna piped up, suddenly interested in the prospect of Isaac being like a kitty cat.

"But, I'm not a vampire. I don't have any teeth to show you," Isaac stated with a bewildered expression. These women were strange.

Risley mentioned, "Maybe, you need them to be stimulated?" Oh, she was getting a kick out of this. The woman reached over towards Araña. Snagging her by the wrist, she shoved it in front of Isaac's face. "Araña, you want to see them so badly. Why don't you volunteer?"

"What? No! I don't want to be bitten! You get bitten!" Araña reached over Isaac and pulled Risley's arm in front of Isaac.

Suddenly, a fight broke out in the man's lap. The two women wrestled, shoving limbs in front of Isaac's face, and even as he was stunned by the strange activity, something was going on inside of his body.

His ears picked up on the sound of flowing liquid, and he could smell something dark and rich in the air. When one of the women's nails scratched skin, accidentally drawing blood, Isaac's nostrils flared of their own accord. He could smell fresh blood, and even while he was astounded by how sharp his senses were, he felt himself being drawn to the bleeding flesh so near to him.

As soon as Isaac leaned down to reach for the women scrambling around on top of him, Kagura entered the infirmary. His head whipped up as Kagura growled, "What is going on in here?"

Risley was the first to recover. "Araña thinks Isaac is a vampire," she laughed.

The dreadlock haired woman reared back to bare her flat fangs. "Shut up, Risley. If you would have seen his flask. You would have…" Her words faded off when she realized blood was running in a tiny stream down her arm.

Immediately, her head tore towards Isaac. It was at that moment that Isaac felt two appendages in his mouth slide up into his gums. The feeling was a quick, painless glide where his canines sucked upwards into his skin.

Araña snapped, "Open your mouth and show them your fangs!"

Isaac obeyed, but he did so with a snicker on his lips. The look of disappointment on the spider web woman's face almost disheartened Isaac a bit. He, too, wanted to know what that feeling in his mouth had been.

He also wanted to know what these large, broken wings were doing on his back. He had so many questions, but none of these women had been able to answer him. Milianna had suggested that he was a Take Over Mage. She'd asked him to see if he could turn into a kitty. He hadn't been able to do that. Instead, as he concentrated on forming ears and a tail, large shadows had cloaked him over. It'd just confused everyone further. Just what kind of mage was he?

Kagura shook her head ever so slowly. "Araña, you have to drop this. I won't permit you to watch lacrima TV if you keep calling people vampires."

She stepped around the girls, and Isaac noticed Beth walking behind her. She had a bowl of soup in her hands. Steam was rolling up from the colored liquid. It smelt good, but Isaac didn't see any form of meat in there. For some reason, his body craved flesh of some kind. Perhaps, he was more of a meat and potatoes kind of man.

Even though, when the woman offered the meal up to him with a shy smile, Isaac happily accepted. "So, you met with my cousin?" he asked as he raised a spoonful of soup to his lips.

Kagura inclined her head. "She said it would be best if we took care of you until she notified us. My master said it was fine for us to accept the job. Also, she wants us to participate in the guild pageant. Would you be opposed to us visiting Crocus while you're under our care?"

With the soup finished in a matter of seconds, Isaac stated, "Doesn't seem like I have anything to keep me from it. I'd be happy to join you. Still, I have a request."

Kagura waited expectantly.

Taking that as his cue, Isaac mentioned, "I'll need someone to set the bones in my wings." To emphasize that point, he attempted to spread them wide. The seven foot span was so horribly crippled that the wings would hardly even stray from his sides. The proud lengths drooped low like any broken bird's wing would. Those beautiful appendages appeared sad.

His hopeful, purple eye looked in the direction of the five women he was surrounded by. Despite his optimism, one look at the girls told him that none of them had a clue.

The silence didn't last long. Millianna mentioned, "If you were a kitty cat, I would know what to do, but I don't even know where to start with birds."

"No kidding," Risley intoned. She stepped over towards Isaac's wings. Her hands lightly touched the thick feathers before she let loose a breath of air. "I'd say to take you to a vet, but that might be taken as an insult?"

Isaac released a short laugh. With a smile still on his lips, he snickered, "Oh, no. I understand. I just wish I knew what magic could get rid of them… Them and this mask…" Isaac's hand reached up to his mask.

When his fingers crossed it, it didn't even move. The mask was firmly in place. No matter how hard Isaac tugged on it, it would not budge. Whoever he had been when he had his memories was someone very, very strange. What could he have been hiding with this mask sealed to his skin? Also, the idea that he carried a flask of blood unnerved him.

With a look of curiosity on her face, Kagura approached. She didn't seem fazed by any of this. Her face was a regal, authoritative mask. When her hand came to run through his thick, feathers, the wings gave a shudder.

Great gods, that felt good. Her slim fingers played in his wings, and despite the unabashed reactions that caused with them, Isaac attempted not to let the comfort of her touch show on his face.

He kept his entire body in one ball of tight lipped stoicism. When a sharp pain had him sucking in a harsh breath, Isaac finally realized what Kagura was doing. She was finding the breaks.

Leaning back, Kagura had pink across her cheekbones. If she had felt the least bit as good touching his wings as he had felt when she was touching them, she hid it well. Clearing her throat, Kagura mentioned, "Your wings are mostly fractured, so we'll can put those in a splint. Can you even move this one?" Her hand gestured towards his right wing, the one hanging the lowest.

He tried to move it, but all that got him was a pain that stabbed him in the back before spreading out along his spine. Nope. That was not moving.

"I thought so. This is going to hurt, but you'll have to deal with it." Kagura stepped in a very professional manner over to the other side of the bed.

As she locked her hands on his wing, Isaac heard her team's comments. "Leave it to Kagura to know what to do in this situation," Beth cheered.

Isaac grinned. These women thought a lot of Kagura. It was such a shame that he knew absolutely nothing about her. About them. About… anything…

Kagura gave a kind smile before getting back down to business. "Alright, Isaac, I'm going to stretch your wings out. Hopefully, this will put it back into the joint. Risley, could you get Sirenia. She was doing paperwork when I spoke with her, but I think she needs to come see Isaac now."

Risley gave a mock salute before making her way out the door. Once the door closed Isaac off from curious, female gazes, Kagura brought his head back around. She began, "One. Two... Three!" Her arms gave a heartless pull at the same time that Isaac's nails shot longer.

The blackened tips sunk inside of the bed, and his eyes went wider than the moon.

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaaaand, CCRRAACCKK!<strong>

**Poor wittle Izzy. Kagura is a scary nurse.**

**Heh. Heh.**

**Alright, guys. You know the drill. This is the little part where I tell you thanks for being fabulous. So, here it is!**

**You are awesome, fantabulous people, and I love the fact that you take time out of your days to entertain yourself with my writing. It truly means a ton to me. Keep on keeping on, friends!**

**(Gives a hand wave of epic proportions before back flipping off bed)**

**(Crashes into dresser)**

**Oh, shit. Dang it. I'm good. I'm good! You didn't see that.**


	7. Angel Slayer Magic

**Alright. Alright. I'm not too thrilled with my work on this piece. It's been a while since I've looked at this story. (Been working on the other parts of my Mages of Lancet Series) This chapter is meant to get y'all thinking. I want you to be curious (especially my readers from Magical Massacre where Isaac is first introduced) about why I "changed" Zac's magic, and I want you to wonder more about his potential blood drinking.**

**Ask me questions, and if you get confused, tell me. I will try to clear it up.**

**Enjoy the story! I command you! Wahahaha!**

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><p>Angel Slayer Magic<p>

A wonderful cocktail of colorful curses lit up the infirmary like a rainbow of sin had just erupted from betwixt Isaac's lips. Faces turned from light pink to hot pink and then to burning scarlet. With a definitive pop, the wing that had been out of joint twisted, snapped, then locked in.

As soon as the wing was in place, Isaac's hand couldn't reach for his silver flask fast enough. He unscrewed the top and drew it to his mouth. The burn of liquor replaced the pain fading from joints Isaac didn't think a normal man should have. A rye whiskey burned an alcoholic trail down his throat, and when he finally pulled a now half-empty flask away, he did so with a sharp "Hoo!"

Unlike the rest of the women in the room, Kagura's face was calm, collected. She looked down at Isaac. He was testing out his wing despite the pain she'd just put him through. After a second, Kagura asked, "Better?"

"Bloody hell yes," he sighed with a voice almost like relief. Even though some of the other joints were still mangled, a few bones broken in that wing, Isaac could at least get it to move.

Isaac still didn't get it though. He pressed his flask against his forehead then slumped down at the headboard. So many things… Why couldn't he remember it? Why couldn't he remember any of it?

All he got were blurry bits and pieces. He knew how to talk. He knew he had an accent compared to these Fiore women. Damn it. Damn it. Who was he? Why did he get shipwrecked?

With the cool flask pressed against his skull, Isaac attempted to delve deeper and deeper inside of his mind. There were flashes of people. A certain man and woman continued to reappear over and over again.

The male was as tall as Isaac and had the same ear piercings, but where Isaac's tongue was pierced, this man's bottom lip was pierced. The man was always smiling and surrounded by multitudes of females. Was that his brother Urian?

The woman on the other hand was shorter. She sported a mess of brunette waves and spikes. Her hair always had a camo bandana in it, and she stood alongside a man with a visor across his eyes. She held the man's hands and lifted the visor to stare into crimson orbs. Isaac had no clue who the knight cosplayer was, but he did assume the woman was his cousin Adamine.

He felt like someone had drilled a hole through his skull, rummaged around in his brain, and picked out all the memories. Isaac had motor skills. He could talk. He could see fine. He just couldn't remember….

Isaac wanted to throw his head in his hands in frustration, and he did. But, as soon as he did, he felt that masquerade mask over his face. It was a mask that Isaac didn't even understand why he wore it. It was a mask that he couldn't even take off by himself.

Even now, he tried. His fingers attempted to slip underneath the mask, but they wouldn't even grapple. Isaac needed to scream in confused rage up to the ceiling at his current predicament, but he didn't get the chance to.

The infirmary door squeaked on its hinges, and all the women in the room turned their heads sharply. When Risley approached with a tall red head, they all looked at her with eyes of followers. So… that was the guild master Sirenia?

She appeared to be. The woman was older, beautiful. Her hair was long and flowed around her slender shoulders to frame an oval face. With full lips so red that they looked like she'd just been given one hell of a kiss, Sirenia's face was that of a seductress.

Taking one look at Isaac with her piercing, bicolored eyes, Sirenia greeted, "It's been a while, Lucifer." Though her words seemed playful, there was this seriousness deep inside of her that kept Isaac from snickering. This… Sirenia knew something about him. He could sense it. Something within him knew her, and that something didn't like her one bit. _Angel_, the voice in his head hissed.

Even though, Isaac bowed his head. "I'll take that as a joke, Ms. Sirenia."

For some reason, that got the master to quirk her lips. She glanced to the many women in her guild. The five looked on expectantly, awaiting for an order. "Let me have some time alone with King Isaac. I want to see what I can do for him before Bickslow's sisters see him."

Crestfallen looks crossed the faces of each woman, but when Sirenia's harsh eyes narrowed, Kagura merely responded, "Of course, master." Her body bent into a polite bow, and after shooting a glower at the rest of her team, the girls scampered out of there like a bomb had just gone off.

So, Kagura wasn't the only one with a death stare.

Isaac settled his one purple eye at the woman. He looked at her, but when their gazes met, Isaac noticed something. Her one purple eye was the exact shade of his.

* * *

><p>Kagura leaned her back against a wall in the hallway even after she'd left. Although it was against her nature to spy, she couldn't help it. Some part of her felt like she needed to protect the amnesiac king in the infirmary. She felt like she needed to guard him. Perhaps, it was because she knew what it was like to wake up one day and nothing was the same as it had been.<p>

In a heartbeat Kagura had lost her family, her brother. Jellal had been the bane of her existence for so long, and because of him Kagura had grown up with wrath and loneliness poisoning her soul. Had it not been for Sirenia taking her in, Kagura wasn't sure where her life would have led her.

Now though, she felt like she had a purpose, and that purpose was making sure to protect Isaac. From what Kagura remembered of him, he was a powerful and well-organized leader. Although he didn't think of himself as good a leader as his cousin Princess Adamine, he was taking massive steps to keep Lancet mages from murder. He stood at the front of protests, and he was an extremely active leader for mage equality. Lancet had a wonderful leader in proud, King Isaac.

Still… that title did get Kagura's head floating towards the female version of said title. According to Adamine, Isaac was in desperate need of a queen. Lancet nobility always took a wife before taking the throne, and the fact that Isaac was unwed gave Normans another reason to add kindling to their hate fire.

As long as Isaac was an amnesiac, he would be relieved from the stress of finding a wife, taking part in the fight for equality, and simply ruling a hate filled country. This amnesia was likely a blessing in disguise.

Kagura leaned her head against a wall much like many of the other women had been doing. After a bit of snarling, Kagura had gotten the sorority guild to disperse. Currently, she was the only one in the hallway, and thanks to her team's help none of the other girls knew Kagura was down here.

As Kagura listened in, she couldn't hear much. Sirenia likely put a spell of silence in the room, but it wasn't going to keep Kagura from trying. She was all but pressing her face inside of the wall when the infirmary door opened to show Sirenia and Isaac.

"Couldn't wait to get him back, I see," Sirenia charmed, her lips curving into a sly smile.

Kagura's words jumbled up in her throat as much as her skin flushed hot. With her vocal chords flopping like a fish out of water, Kagura couldn't muster up a single reaction to deny the truth Sirenia spoke.

After a while, the master just laughed. Her heavenly voice warmed the air around her. Light seemed to brighten the room at that sound. "Well, at least, I know that I'm putting him in good hands. Kagura, could you get Isaac better acquainted to the guild? Also, I'm leaving it up to your team to figure out sleeping arrangements for him." Sirenia gave Isaac a look of motherly pride. Then, she left them with a simple "Have fun".

Once Sirenia disappeared down the hallway, Kagura couldn't form words. Isaac was giving her that boyish grin while he ran a hand up the back of his neck nervously. "I'm very sorry to inconvenience you, Kagura," he admitted. "Guess you and the other girls are going to have to babysit me."

Kagura raised her chin and pulled her shoulders back. In this posture she could at least forget not only how stunning Isaac was with his big, black wings, but she could also forget how that single, purple eye got her skin hot. "It's no problem at all. I signed up for the job, and it's my duty to see you well taken care of."

She gave a pause. "We'll be leaving for Crocus early tomorrow morning." When they began walking down the long corridor, she asked, "Could Sirenia not do anything for your wings?"

Isaac raised his brow then jerked backwards as if he'd forgotten the appendages were there. "Uh… Well, actually, we didn't talk about them. She told me that they're beautiful and not to be hidden. She kind of sounded pissed off that I wanted to get rid of them…" He rubbed that hand back against his neck. It seemed like the confused, puppy look worked well on him.

Kagura could feel her heart melting for this lost man. Even though, she continued with her drill session. "And, your magic? Sirenia has a vast knowledge of lost magicks. I'm assuming that yours is lost."

Isaac's purple eye looked towards the ceiling. When his lips parted for a breath to escape them, Kagura assumed Sirenia had made Isaac vow not to tell anyone about their conference.

"Well, Sirenia said something about Angel Slayer Magic."

Kagura raised her dark, purple brow. Angel Slayer Magic? Well, that was certainly new. When she just kept her lips shut and her ears open, Isaac kept on. "Sirenia said that Angel Slayer Magic is magic taught by Heavenly Angels to humans. The magic was meant for humans to combat Fallen Angels when time came for Armageddon." Isaac expanded his large wings. "She said that the wings are a side effect. Kind of makes sense when your enemy can fly, but a human can't."

"Interesting. Would you let me see them when we get done with the tour of the guild?"

Isaac cast her a grin, and Kagura could have sworn those doubled up canines that Araña had been trying to show came back out. Somewhere inside of herself, they alarmed her. What if Araña was right about Isaac's flask? What if he truly needed blood to survive? Kagura had never heard of something like Angel Slayer Magic, and apparently, there were side effects. Could blood drinking be a side effect?

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><p><strong>So, has anyone figured out who Sirenia is yet? Perhaps, it's too early to tell, but I'm planning on leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for you all.<strong>


	8. Take Flight

**AH! Attack of the girls who ask too many questions! Run! Run fast! Run free! Run now!**

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><p>Take Flight<p>

When the hallway finally gave way into a massive, Queen Anne styled living room, Isaac hadn't expected for there to be women draped across every piece of furniture imaginable. One girl was sharpening her blade atop a grandfather clock. Two girls were spread out on a couch covered in popcorn from their hands. There was a woman at a piano, another playing guitar, and one more playing bass. Even with this large expanse that was the living room, Isaac suddenly felt encompassed by air filled with so much estrogen that it was hard for him to breathe.

Then… they attacked.

"He's an angel!" one cried out.

"Just look at those wings!"

"If that's cosplay, it's the best I've ever seen."

"He can take me to Heaven any day of the week."

"Whoa! Kagura's with a guy."

Isaac's one eye went wide as women surrounded him and Kagura. Questions and curiosities spilled from their lips so fast that Isaac's head went spinning. His mouth opened as he tried to speak, but there were so many words hanging in the air. And, damn… If it wasn't getting claustrophobic in here, Isaac wasn't sure what could compare.

As far as Isaac could see, women created an ocean around him. He felt like he was being drowned in females until a hand nabbed him by the wrist. "Follow me," was ordered from somewhere. Without his consent Isaac was running backwards away from the attacking females.

Still, more women were in the hallways, and when Kagura led him through the kitchen, there were females sitting on the bar, on tables, and even on the counter. What was this? Some kind of sorority house?

When a nosy few perked their heads up to attempt to get a hold of what they were calling a fallen angel, Kagura snapped, "This is getting ridiculous. Gravity Change!" To Isaac's absolute surprise and pleasure, all the females became plastered to the ground.

That chin of Kagura's jutted out authoritatively, and she opened a door up to let Isaac pass into the back of the guild. "I think it's best for you to get some fresh air. You've been stuck indoors for too long now."

Almost frightened by the cold glare Kagura was directing to the many women laid out on the floor, Isaac decided it was in his best interest to do as the lady ordered. His head ducked underneath Kagura's arm, and immediately, the male felt like he'd been transported to another world.

The back of Mermaid Heel was a massive meditation garden. Large stones had been placed down amongst rich soul. On either side of a pathway were massive trees. Tall, dark branches reached out to expand across the path. Smaller, flowering trees were set in a circle that lined a bubbling brook maneuvering around topiary. Green, red, yellow, and purple encompassed Isaac when Kagura walked him over a wooden bridge and towards a large, vertically stretched stone.

As the two strolled through the expansive garden, Kagura's hand reached to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Forgive them. It's rare for us to have men in Mermaid Heel. The usual that we get are peeping toms and the like. Risley, Millianna, and Araña had to kick Bacchus out when he and some buddies thought they could catch us in the hot springs."

"Hot springs?" Isaac wondered, head tilting to the side.

"Mmm. We have hot springs back here, but since this is an all-female guild, we don't suspect men to show up. Bacchus wound up being hogtied after Risley drop kicked him. Then, Millianna set him flying over the fence."

Isaac just nodded. He didn't know what the heck a hot spring even was. It sounded nice, and when Kagura walked passed a large pool carved into stone with steam rising from the water, he assumed that was what she meant.

As soon as they reached a large clearing amidst the thick greenery, Isaac allowed his arms to rise and his wings to reach their full span. The twin appendages reached out so far. He watched with curiosity as the strange lengths stretched as far as they could. When they got longest, his brow rose.

At the tips and underneath thick, ebony feathers were a set of long talons. The talons were just as dark as his feathers, but when sunlight came through their dappled covering, the lengths glistened like an ebony lance. Hmm. So, was that another side effect from his Angel Slayer Magic?

He was pondering just that when Kagura's sharp intake of breath stole his attention. She'd turned around, taking in Isaac's massive appendages. She almost appeared unnerved by the lengths, but brazenly she approached them.

Slim fingers ran through them. She found one of the bones she'd set into place and wrapped her hand around one. Her hands stroked the interesting wings. "Are you going to try flying?" she wondered, catching Zac off guard.

Shadowy brow rising, Isaac's eloquent response was "Huh?".

Kagura grinned in an almost shy manner. Her hand ran up to the top of one thick bone then stroked back down. This petting him was causing a chain reaction inside of his throat. Said reaction was a low, purring sound.

Thank whatever god he used to worship that she didn't hear his purring. The little woman stopped running her fingers through his black feathers, and she repeated, "Are you going to fly?"

His hand went to the back of his neck. Giving a haphazard movement of his wings, he felt the ways his muscles moved under the skin. He felt his joints move. His deduction? Well, it felt good. For some reason, these movements felt so familiar to him. He felt like he could do this right.

Casting what he hoped was a reassuring grin, he offered his hand. Kagura appeared confused. Her dark purple brow rose, and for a second there she just looked at his palm. Right when he figured she was declining his invitation, he felt warmth spreading across his hand.

"Going up?" Isaac taunted.

"And you think you won't kill us both?"

Isaac drew Kagura up close. His arms wrapped protectively around her, sending that good feeling escalating even higher. Her body was so warm. It fit so well between his biceps. That little waist of hers fit perfectly between his calloused palms. For some reason this closeness got his lips to tingle. His body was pulled unconsciously even closer to her. Damn. Whatever they had between each other was some powerful juice. He wondered how good they'd work together on the battlefield. After meeting with Sirenia, Isaac was sure that he'd get to find out sooner rather than later.

Even so, Isaac mule kicked that thought to the back of his head. For now he reveled in the feel of her pressed tight against him. Letting a cocky grin slip comfortably against his lips, Isaac replied, "Well, I think that we won't die. We'll just have to see what happens."

He reared his wings back. As soon as a single, powerful thrust had them shooting skyward, Kagura howled, "Don't say something like that and then do it anyway!"

Her nearly hysterical cry faded off when Isaac's face was caressed by hasty winds. The air blew by him like a business man late for a meeting. Clutching Kagura tight, he flew through a maze of thick branches that looked hell bent on taking off his face. His body whooshed this way and that way until he broke through the canopy of the meditation garden.

When their bodies were suspended in midair with only his wings keeping them afloat, he felt something wrap, slam, and lock around his waist. Little nails sunk inside of Isaac's shoulders, and Kagura's face suddenly appeared at Isaac's throat.

"We're gunna die! We're gunna die! We're gunna die!" she repeated over and over and over again into his throat.

Strangely more comfortable in the air than he was on the ground, Isaac flipped over on his back. Kagura laid out on his muscled abdomen. Cockily putting his hands behind his head, Isaac snickered, "We could."

The arms that had been locked around him tightened until he wheezed air. "Don't you dare say things like that! Isaac Grigori von Kaiser, I do not rely on luck for anything, so you had better be one hundred percent sure that we won't die because you don't remember how to fly!" she squawked. Hmm. A strange sound coming from someone who Isaac had just been assuming was straight laced and calm.

Prying her claws out from his throat, Isaac wheezed, "I'm one hundred percent sure you'll kill us both if you keep strangling me like that!" Once he could breathe again, he added, "Besides, check out the view."

Isaac's purple eye strolled over the skyline. They were at least one hundred or more feet in the air. Only big thrusts of Isaac's wings kept them riding the wind, but that wasn't the most impressive sight he had in mind right now. Isaac's gaze was running up and down through the streets.

Whatever village or town they were in was set right by the ocean. Isaac had big, blue-green waves on his right and massive smoky peaks of mountaintops to his left. The view was stunning.

When Kagura relaxed on top of him, she pressed her hands down on his chest. Isaac had chosen this position so she could sit up, and when her legs straddled his waist, he knew he'd made the right decision.

Automatically, Kagura's lips parted. She took in the big, fluffy clouds overhead. Her big, caramel eyes watched as confused birds flew away from the massive winged male in the sky. When a pod of dolphins leaped out of the ocean as if specifically for their viewing pleasure, Kagura childishly cried, "Look there, Isaac!"

Her finger pointed to at least six dolphins leaping from the water. Spray from their ascent rose up to glisten like diamonds thrown in the air, and when they dove back down, the two could still see their bodies flowing under the liquid.

"It's a lot different up here than it is down there. Isn't it?" Isaac wondered aloud. Instead of taking in the scenery, his eyes had found something a little bit more interesting.

His purple eyes took in the way Kagura's eyes went light, and how her full lips parted. He wanted to sink his teeth against that plump bottom lip for some reason. And, her hair. With the way the sun was pooling over their bodies, it made a halo of light around her head. Kagura looked more like an angel than he did at the moment.

"Definitely. This is probably a much faster means of transportation as well. Instead of walking around things, you can just go over them." Ah. Her sensible side had come back. Oh, well. Isaac should have figured that the girlie moment wouldn't last long with a woman who kept a sword on her hip at all times.

Right now said sword was bumping against his hips. That got him thinking about something. Isaac had been wearing the same threads since he'd gotten here. It'd be nice to not have to wash his clothes every day. While they were in the air, they might as well fly over to town.

"Hey, Kagura, think we could get me some clothes while we're out? I will be needing different attire if I'm going to be playing as a member of Mermaid Heel for the modeling competition."

Kagura narrowed her caramel orbs on him. "What do you mean being a member of Mermaid Heel for the modeling competition?"

"Sirenia suggested it. She said that the competition has a slot for men in the guild to partake. She wanted me to be the guild's temp model since I'm the only guy around," Isaac explained.

Kagura seemed to ponder that for a moment before nodding her head. "That would make sense, but the criteria states that you have to be a member of the guild."

Isaac pulled down the collar of his trench coat to flaunt Mermaid Heel's insignia beneath his collarbone. Strangely, the curvy and feminine mark looked masculine when placed in black atop Isaac's skin. Well, it appeared that he was the first man to fully infiltrate Mermaid Heel with all of his limbs still intact. That meant he was their only candidate for the modeling competition.

"Welcome to Mermaid Heel, then," Kagura replied with a dreamy grin slipping across a slightly flushed face.

In his head Isaac thought, _So, I'm guessing that I'm the luckiest guy in the world right about now._ That thought got Isaac's fangs flashing in a goofy smile of his own.

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><p><strong>Well, if that wasn't cute then I suck at writing fluff.<strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed. :)**

**Have wonderful days, and please, don't forget to review me. I need critiques, so that I know I'm doing well.**

**Thank you all and goodbye.**


	9. Awake

Awake

It was early when a body began to creep around in the guild. Green dreadlocks flattened against one of the wooden walls, and Araña let her black eyes rove around for any of the girls that would be getting here early. Typically, Sirenia was the first one in the guild, but on some days it would be Kagura who would be one to open up shop.

So far it didn't look like anyone was around. Even so, Araña moved with stealth across the wooden floors. Her feet didn't make a single sound.

Flattening herself against another wall, she made her way towards the infirmary. Last night, Kagura had decided to set Isaac up in the infirmary. It made the most sense since he wouldn't be able to stay at an inn. Also, having him in the guild instead of out in public would cause less people to know of his presence.

But… that wasn't the reason that Araña was sneaking around the guild. She was creeping for an entirely different reason. Hands moved to the pocket in her mustard colored jumpsuit, and immediately she fished out a vial of blood. This was going to confirm her suspicions for a fact, and then she would know to cover the guild with garlic and crosses to keep Fallen Angel Isaac from making a meal out of any of the girls.

Last night, Kagura and King Isaac had come back late. Apparently, they had snuck out and gone shopping without letting anyone know. Isaac had gotten all the right outfits needed to do the modeling competition in Crocus, and while they had been gone, Araña had taken the time to visit one of the sketchier magic shops around town.

That was how she got this little vial of crimson liquid. Grinning at her own cunning, Araña made her way up the stairs in the guild. Her free hand slipped along the smooth, wooden railing, and she crept quietly. She felt like the perfect ninja as she made her way up towards the infirmary.

One foot in front of the other, she walked down the hallway. Her dark eyes checked each door as she passed by it. Sirenia's office was at the end of the hall. There was a bathing chamber to the right, and the infirmary was on the left.

Pressing her pale hand against the flat surface of the wooden door, Araña took a sharp inhalation of breath. She was about to do it. She was about to find out once and for all if King Isaac truly was a blood drinker.

Araña had seen a lot of frightening things in her life. Demons were real. Dragons were real. It would only make sense for vampires to be real, too, and then, there was the assumption of angels. With those wings, vampire wasn't the right word to come to her mind, but vampirism in any form was still vampirism. She was about to find out for certain.

Carefully, she pressed on the door. It opened silently to her presence. Her right hand clenched the vial of blood tightly, and when she opened eyes that she didn't remember clenching shut, all she found was Isaac stretched out on the infirmary bed.

His rose pink lips were parted, and two hands were stretched out over his head. Compared to the tight way that he'd been sleeping in this bed last time, it appeared that King Isaac's body was close to finishing its healing process. In sleep his large wings were spread.

The long, ebony appendages twitched on occasion. Sometimes they would even wrap closer to his body like he was keeping himself warm with them. King Isaac was definitely a strange mage.

In complete stealth Araña forced herself to get back to the task at hand. She made noiseless steps towards the king, and once she stood at the head of the bed, she peered down at the teeth she could see behind his parted lips.

Although Isaac's body was completely clean of any injuries, his skin appeared paler than it had been when they'd first seen him. Even the color of his mouth and lips had paled.

Curious, Araña moved the vial. She unscrewed the lid and leaned closer towards Isaac. Like a dog on a scent trail, his head moved towards her in sleep. She moved the vial this way and that way under his nose to watch in amazement at how he followed it. Her eyes were so focused on the way he moved towards the vial of blood that she didn't notice the claws on the tips of his fingers elongating and darkening.

Isaac's lips parted when Araña got the vial too close to his lips, and suddenly, a hand snatched her slender wrist. A slight squeak pulled from her lips, but sleeping Isaac covered her mouth with his free hand. The one uncovered eye he had flashed open. Instead of being that wonderful Alexandria's Genesis purple, this eye was brilliant blue. Not only had that changed, but when Isaac spoke, his voice wasn't the same.

"Don't go around teasing one like me, girl," the deeper voice explained. With a cruel smirk on his lips, Isaac pulled Araña's wrist closer. He tilted the vial up to his lips and like a starved man at drink, his mouth sucked the contents of the vial dry.

All the blood felt like it was sucked out of her face with the same speed that Isaac's lips downed the vial of crimson. Her body broke into slight tremors that seemed to please this blue eyed, deep voiced version of Isaac. Once he pulled the vial away from his mouth, he released her.

Isaac's hands smoothed the white sheets covering him, and he adjusted until he sat up straight. "So, you sent me to Fiore," the deep voice rumbled as if coming straight from Isaac's broad chest.

Araña was frozen in fear. She watched with wide, black eyes as this new Isaac stepped from the bed. Color was returning to the face of the male. His skin turned pink before her very eyes. His hair appeared to grow silkier and so did his large, black wings.

The man tilted his head this way and that, popping the bones in his neck. With a flexing and movement of his shoulder blades, Isaac's massive wings began to fold in on themselves. They seemed to break down. The bones snapped and bent before sinking inside of him in a black light that glowed. In just a few moments, the wings were gone to reveal Isaac's muscular back.

There was one mark on Isaac's back, and that was the seal of the Royal Guard, his group of mages that served him with their lives. The seal was a round shield with a raven in flight dead center. The black wings spread out from the shield, and the beak of the raven pointed straight up along Isaac's spine. Even though the wings were gone, Isaac's intimidation factor was not. Everything about the way this new Isaac moved, like a predator in the night, screamed evil.

Despite it all, Araña didn't feel like her legs could move her.

Isaac braced his brawny arm against the large, pointed arch window in the room. His currently blue eye scanned the town below him.

At this hour it was early dawn. A dusty light filtered down through the clouds to shine a pink glow across the sea shore. Golden sand reflected against the blue-green sea, and the lamps in the town were just beginning to turn off their lacrima powered glow.

From this angle red light poured across Isaac's healthily glowing skin. With his head resting against his forearm and his free hand making trails along the dark slashes of his masquerade mask, King Isaac appeared like some forlorn darkness come straight from the past.

The hand that had been smoothing over the mask stopped its leisurely stroking, and Isaac clenched the mask tightly with his black talons. The talons sunk beneath the mask, but when Isaac tried to rip the piece off his face, he was met with magical resistance. Red light shined from whatever magic seal held the mask to his face. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared and flames shot out along Isaac's fingertips. "Damn you, Sirenia," Isaac hissed.

His body whipped around when Araña made just the slightest motion to back away, and suddenly, it was like he'd just acknowledged her presence. The man was on her in a second. His talon tipped fingers grabbed onto the back of her head, and his blue eye bored into her gaze. "You will tell no one of my presence," he explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

Hastily, she nodded her head. She was unnerved. Wasn't sure what was going on. Yeah, she'd figured out Isaac drank blood, but what she didn't figure out was who the hell was inside Isaac's body.

"You will forget that you ever saw me."

"Y-Yes!" she squeaked.

"Good. Now scram. I can feel the boy waking up inside of me. The last thing I need is for Sirenia to know I've been awakened." Isaac's hand wrapped around Araña's entire face. Her black eyes widened in fear as that strange dark yet glowing light spread around his hand. A small magic circle formed on the black of his hand in a blue-black light. Right when Araña was sure that she was about to be attacked or killed, Isaac's new voice commanded, "Forget."

* * *

><p>Kagura felt uneasy as she walked into the guild the next morning. She didn't know why she felt that way. She had the whole morning from when she'd woken up two hours before her alarm went off to when she'd finished packing in preparation for Crocus. The fact that the guild's doors were unlocked by the time she'd gotten in didn't help her unease one bit.<p>

Chewing on the inside of her lip, Kagura checked the inside of the guild. No one was here. None of the lights were on. Not even the large chandelier that was made of blown glass was turned on. That single light illuminated the entire space in a flickering glow similar to flames. It was the first light anyone turned on when they came into the guild.

Had someone broke in last night? If so, why? There were items of value in the guild, but the town of Verbena was a quiet, peaceful place. Thieves were the last things people in this town had to worry about. Their worst problems were tsunamis and hurricanes.

Flicking on the light switch of Sirenia's favorite chandelier, Kagura checked out the guild. Nothing seemed out of place. The guild was pristinely clean thanks to Kagura having hired new barmaids to take care of the place.

She rubbed the back of her neck then placed her messenger bag down in a hideaway corner of the foyer. If someone was in here, there was no way they would know that pulling out a book on ancient rulers of Lancet would cause a small storage space to open up. Besides, the average thief looked for obvious items of value. Thieves weren't typically versed in pricey literature.

Immediately, her eyes locked on the opened door of the infirmary. Isaac was still healing. He shouldn't be up and out of bed. Just when she was starting to make her way up the steps to the infirmary, Isaac popped his black head out the doorway.

Purple eyes locked with hazel, and he did that adorable boyish grin thing again. Ugh. The grin should be outlawed with the way it made her skin flush pink. "Morning, Kagura," Isaac greeted.

His tall body stepped fully from the infirmary, and he met her at the top of the stairs. Inclining her head at him, Kagura greeted, "Morning, Isaac. Did you unlock the doors this morning?"

"Huh? No. It must have been Araña. When I woke up, she was passed out on one of the infirmary beds. She's still asleep up there."

Well, that explained why the doors were unlocked, but now Kagura had more questions. Why did Araña come up here early?

Instead of asking, Kagura wondered about something else. "How long have you been awake?"

He shrugged. "Just long enough to take a shower. It took me about five different tries to figure out which way the hot water turned, but I eventually got it figured out." The look of self-satisfaction that crossed his face would forever be stuck inside of Kagura's head forever. How amnesia could turn one of the most serious, honorable men alive into a simple boy was amazing.

Kagura took a step around dark headed Isaac only to pause and notice a couple of things. One was the fact that he was strolling around the guild with nothing but a towel around his hips, and two was the fact that his wings were gone.

Rivulets of water dripped down the many indentions in his back, and she felt her face turning deep scarlet when moisture glistened against the Royal Guard's insignia placed between his shoulder blades. Without those wings on him, she could see everything. Hastily, she tore her eyes away.

Coughing into her hand, Kagura mentioned, "Isaac, where are your pants?"

The tall, brawny male blinked a couple of times then looked down at the towel he'd tied around his hips. "Oh. Uh. Ha. Ha. Oops. Lemme go get them. I just got out of the shower."

He spun around on his heel towards the infirmary, but Kagura was right behind him. If Araña was in here early, Kagura needed to make sure she hadn't come in to harass Isaac about the blood she'd found in his flask. It was a good thing that Kagura didn't watch TV shows like Type A. The last thing Kagura wanted to be was hallucinating about people with a tendency to drink blood.

As soon as she stepped into the doorway, Isaac snatched up a pair of faded out blue jeans before disappearing behind the door of the bathroom. How he got rid of his wings, Kagura had no clue. She just knew that she'd be a lot more comfortable around him when he decided to put on some pants instead of that thin towel he had on.

Kagura let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding then turned her eyes to Araña passed out on the bed. The woman looked like she'd fallen there and hadn't moved since. It was odd for Araña to be up so early. Kagura was the earliest riser in the guild, second only to their master.

With a frown crossing her face because Kagura was sure Araña had come here to confirm her vampire suspicions, Kagura flicked the green headed woman between the eyes. They only had so much time before they had to get to Crocus, and Kagura was sure that Araña had been up all night plotting how to reveal Isaac's secret instead of getting packed.

"Five more minutes," Araña complained. She grabbed the thin sheet covering her body to hike it up and over her head.

Quickly, Kagura pulled the sheet back down. "Araña, wake up. We're leaving in half an hour."

The woman shot straight up to sit at a perfect ninety degree angle. "Half an hour!" she cried. Her eyes got wide then narrowed. Pointing a finger at Kagura, she asked, "What are you doing in m my house?"

Hazel eyes rolled. "We're not in your house. We're in the infirmary. You unlocked the doors early this morning. You weren't trying to see if Isaac was a vampire or not. Were you?"

Araña's eyes flew wide at the accusation. "Wha-me? No! I don't even know how I got here." She leaped out of the bed. With her hands on the door frame, she cried, "I'll be back before time to go. Don't leave without me! I have to get packed!" And, just like that Araña disappeared in a frenzy.

With a sigh Kagura turned her eyes up to the tiles in the ceiling. "Am I really the only sane one around here?"

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><p><strong>(Gives a bow) Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. It was supposed to be up sooner, but writing eight stories at the same time while also doing beta writing for other people and keeping up with classwork is a touch difficult. Yes, I know that was an excuse, but aye, I ain't a miracle worker here. :P<strong>

**One another note, I hope you all enjoyed this tidbit. Have wonderful days and nights.**


	10. A Series of Unfortunate Events

Okay. So, this is just me explaining why I will not be posting anything for a while. Just the other day, I laid my computer down before bed. Well, said computer decided to fall off the bookshelf in the middle of the night. That caused my USB with all of my notes, edits, and stories to snap in half. Luckily, I salvaged the micro chip. Unluckily, according to the guys at Best Buy, it will cost me $200 for an estimation of how much it will cost to repair my USB and extract the files. Since I am but a poor student with no money, I can't spend that much on a USB to suck the information out of it.

I'll be trying to scrap up my stories. Good old copy and paste will become my friend as I attempt to recover all of my stories. (sighs) Sorry, y'all. Very, very sorry. It's all my fault the computer fell. I should have made sure it was secure before going to sleep. Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Even though I know who is the blame it does not mean that I am not pitching a blasted frick-a-fracking fit about my screw up. All that work... Gone. Destroyed. Bye-bye.

Excuse me while I go write a eulogy to my USB. The funeral service will be in my backyard. Also, I will be making a wooden coffin for my dearly beloved.

(sniffles) Goodbye, my love! Life shall never be the same without you. Tis I who snapped the spinal cord that made you thrive, and tis I who will live in suffering for my foolishness. Rest easy, my love. Rest easy knowing that you will live on forever in my heart. You were the best USB a girl could have. (dramatically throws self across three inch long wooden coffin)


End file.
